North Dakota Senate Rejects Total Abortion Ban

North Dakota senate rejected a total ban on abortion by refusing to allow a roll call vote, tabling the bill. Once it was off the floor, political advocates of personhood were unable to get it back for a revote, as they couldn’t obtain a 2/3rds majority.

“It was really demeaning to not have my request for a recorded roll call vote to be listened to. And that was actually in violation of the Constitution. Article 4 Section 13 guarantees that any senator has the right to a recorded roll call vote. But more importantly, the citizens of North Dakota deserve to know where we stand on this issue.,” said Sen. Margaret Sitte, R-Bismarck.

Sen. Curtis Olafson, R-Edinburg said: “The maneuver that was done this morning, the floor procedure that was done is completely within Senate rules, in Mason`s rules. It is a very common procedure, in terms of the knowledge that it is available. It`s not used all that often, but it was completely within Senate rules.”

The avoidance of a roll call vote shows that despite their heavy anti-choice majority and tough talk when it comes to abortion, many politicians are recognizing that the extreme anti-abortion position of personhood is so far out of the mainstream that they could turn off many of the voters they need for reelection.